


Sanctuary

by foxinspace



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Family Fluff, Gen, Insomnia, Nightmares, how nargles came to be
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-13
Updated: 2016-06-13
Packaged: 2018-07-14 18:07:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7184645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foxinspace/pseuds/foxinspace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Luna can't sleep at night.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sanctuary

Luna’s room is her sanctuary. Her safe haven. The sunlight filters in through the window just so, illuminating her bed and her desk (with just enough natural light that she rarely needs to turn on the lamp that her father scavenged from a a Muggle rummage sale- it is shaped like a swan and made of glass and when you look at it just right, you can see every color reflecting off its depths) and her play corner. Her mum calls it her lab, because of how many times she’s practiced with the beginning Potions kit she got when she was six. None of it is harmful of course- even the most clumsy child could only end up with a mess on the floor or a nasty-tasting liquid (and even that still tastes better than some of the beans out of a Bertie Botts box).

Luna is not a clumsy child though, and she’s made all of the potions that come with instructions, and a few besides. She likes to experiment just like her mum, and Pandora sometimes comes in and watches, or beckons Luna into the living room or even farther- into Pandora’s own Potions lab. When Luna is there, of course, Pandora does not experiment- she sticks with the tried-and-true, the Potions with little risk for explosion or damage.

Thanks to Xenophilius, her walls are covered with noteworthy editions of the Quibbler, carefully stuck behind homemade frames with glitter and poster paint. Her ceiling is covered with golden stars that glow when it’s twilight, and sometimes they move (Luna is careful not to blink sometimes, staring up at them until her eyes water and her patience is rewarded with a shooting star or the moon briefly swinging around).

Luna loves her room when it’s daytime, but she hates it when it’s dark. The stars provide just enough illumination to lend menace to every shadow; the moon’s cold glimmer is nothing like the warm, comforting embrace of the sun. She lies perfectly still beneath her covers every time her mum and dad kiss her good night and tuck her in. The blankets cover every inch, her Puffskein purrs soothingly in the crook of her elbow, but she stays rigid and awake until exhaustion takes over or dawn paints the sky safe again.

One night, her father lingers, crouching on his heels by her pillow and brushing her dirty blonde hair away from her face.

“Would you like to hear a secret, Luna?” he asks her, in an overly hushed, conspiratorial voice. Luna smiles (a trifle wanly) and nods. The Puffskein (whose name is Rapunzel) makes a sort of chortling sound and purrs.

“I’ve found out why the sun goes down every night,” he says.

“Mummy says it’s because of how the world moves,” Luna says, brow scrunching.

“That’s what everyone is supposed to believe,” Xeno says, flapping a hand in dismissal. “Mummy is very smart of course,” he adds hastily, cheeks reddening. “But I believe I’ve stumbled upon the _truth_.”

“What?” Luna props herself up on her elbows, curious. Xeno leans in closer, until she can smell his cologne and the breath freshening potion he always uses after dinner.

“Heliopaths,” Xeno whispers.

“What are those, Daddy?” Luna questions, her dread of the upcoming dark momentarily wiped away.

“Great spirits of fire,” Xenophilius tells her. His hands swoop through the dim room, illustrating his words. “They exist in this world, too, but they come from the sun. They gallop across the sun, spreading fire in their wake, and that is why the sun is so bright. But they must rest- and when they do-” He pauses and looks out the window.

“That’s why the moon comes up?” Luna guesses. Her father nods.

“They need a break every night,” he replies. “I’m not sure what lives on the moon- not yet, but I’ll crack it, you see if I don’t.”

Luna giggles.

“I know you will, Daddy,” she tells him, kissing his slightly whiskery cheek.

Xenophilius pushes himself upright, smiling down at her.

“Sleep well, sweetheart,” he says, and Luna beams drowsily at him.

“Night, Daddy,” she says, mouth half open in a yawn. He tiptoes out of the room, watching her eyes already drooping shut.

In the hallway, Pandora waits for him, already in her nightgown.

“Did it work?” she questions in a whisper. He gestures for her to peek in the open door. Luna already looks fast asleep.

“I’ll have to come up with more, of course,” Xenophilius murmurs, guiding his wife down the hall to their bedroom. “There must be loads of fantastical creatures in this world, don’t you think, love? All waiting for Luna to discover them…”

“Yes, dear,” Pandora says, amused at the excitement on his face. Now that he has a new project, she knows he’ll be just as enthralled by it as their daughter will be.

“For the next one,” Xeno pauses, in the act of climbing into bed. “How’s this for a name? What about…Nargles?”


End file.
